TRAINER, Pa. (CBS) — US senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today was suggesting that an idea being floated in some Republican circles — to try and shut down the government to stop Obamacare — is just not the right way to go.

The ultra-conservative US senator insists the Affordable Care Act is a failure and should be defunded, if not repealed outright.

Toomey says he’ll try to take some limited action in the short run to hobble Obamacare, such as pushing for a delay in the “individual mandate.”

But if Congress tries to shut down government operations over the law, he feels, it won’t do a lot of good.

“About 85 percent of Obamacare continues because it’s funded by other parts of the government through our tax code, and through other things. So shutting down the government doesn’t achieve that objective,” Toomey says.

Congressman Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), representing Delaware County, joins in that sentiment. Meehan and Toomey are trying to convince fellow GOPers promising a showdown on Capitol Hill that their tactics will backfire on them — and their party.

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David Madden is a Philadelphia native with virtually a lifetime of experience in local radio. At the tender age of 13, his news reports were heard on WIBG Radio from time to time.
His first paid on-air position was as a freelance reporter for WIBG...